If one thing is for certain, we are full of emotions this week, forever thankful, and truly blessed as we kick off the holiday season with Thanksgiving.  Watching our family grow with our bundle of joy, Jimmy, has been remarkable these last couple months!  As we celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s given us a lot of time to reflect and we find it difficult to express in words all that we have to be thankful!

This past week was an exciting one at best, and further emphasizes how grateful we are this holiday season.  For those keeping track, Jimmy’s original due date was November 19th, just this past Saturday.  It is hard to comprehend how far Jimmy has come these past two months.  Before Jimmy’s arrival, one of our goals was to see that he was baptized prior to Christmas and maybe even Thanksgiving.  Well, given his early arrival, we were able to meet that goal and celebrate Jimmy’s baptism on November 20th (one day after his expected delivery date 🙂 ).  The celebration was certainly special and it was wonderful celebrating James Xavier’s entrance into the Catholic faith.  A special thanks goes out to St. Philip Neri for accommodating a private service so as not to expose Jimmy to germs ;).

One other important update…. Jimmy had a super followup at his eye doctor on Wednesday.  The hemorrhages they were monitoring are no longer an issue at this time and he won’t have to go through another eye exam for another 10 months 🙂

We know if we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times… we are forever thankful for all of our Family and Friends love and support.  From our family to yours, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Love Angie, Jim, Jimmy and Dunder

(Note, this post is back dated… stay tuned for more updates)

Last week Jimmy had his two month doctor visit, which included his 8 week immunization shots.  He was not a happy camper afterwards, as there was lots of crying!  There was so much crying that once he finally settled down, Dunder Dog was able to get some rest and immediately starting snoring heavily.  Unfortunately, the office didn’t have all of the shots and Jimmy had to go back to the office on Friday to received his RSV shot.

Little Jimmy is probably around 8 1/2 pounds now. Also, Jimmy passed the 20 inch mark – a whole 3 inches longer since birth.  Based on a preemie growth chart of babies at 39 gestational weeks, he was right in the middle of the pack – 50th percentile.  As the doctor described, he is a newborn but is starting to acquire the skills of a 2 month old baby.

Jimmy went on another field trip to Valley Forge park to eat lunch with his grandparents near Uncle Matt’s tree.  It was a beautiful day of 70 degrees and the leaves were falling.  Like last week’s adventure to the park, Jimmy was sound asleep through it.

It is hard to believe that Jimmy is seven weeks old this week, and is technically 38 gestational weeks today.  It’s been two weeks since Jimmy has made the treck home, and he has been adjusting remarkably well.  At his weekly doctor’s check-up this past Thursday, he weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces!  It is amazing to think that he has almost doubled in size from his birth weight.  On average, our little guy is gaining 1-2oz per day.  In the next week, Jimmy will be 8 weeks old, and will receive his 2 month immunization shots.  In addition to the standard shots, he’ll receive his RSV shot to help ward off this nasty virus.

Getting comfortable with weekly routines… Jimmy has bath nights Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, and he is gradually warming up to the concept with less fuss.  Also, Jimmy is sleeping better and when he sleeps better, Angie does too :).  Fortunately, there have only been two nights that were tiresome for both Angie and Jimmy.

Last Sunday, Jimmy had the opportunity to attend his first birthday party for Aunt Abbie.  Angie did a terrific job embroidering a cute onesie that said “Happy Birthday Aunt Abbie”.  Jimmy was the only one at the party that got the message to come dressed appropriately 🙂

To help pass time, Angie is coming up with creative ways to entertain Jimmy, and this week he went on his first of many adventures with Mom.  With Doctor’s orders limiting visitors to only immediate family, we have to be creative and avoid areas with crowds.  On Thursday, Angie took Jimmy out for a nice car ride and visited Uncle Matt’s tree at Washington Headquarters in Valley Forge.  It was a perfect Fall day for Jimmy to get some fresh air.  He enjoyed it soo much that most of the trip he was sound asleep.

Jealous Dunder… While the attention in the household has been centered on Jimmy, we do have to remember our puppy needs some attention as well.  The one thing that confuses Dunder the most, is Jimmy is fed every three to four hours.  So whenever Angie or Jim exclaim “Is Jimmy ready for Food?” Dunder runs to his food bowl thinking it is his time to eat.  He’s starting to get the hang of this, although we sense Dunder’s not happy only being fed twice a day.  Hang in their buddy, we’re sure you’ll get Jimmy’s leftovers in due time 🙂